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Salon Style

For most serious collectors, art plays a very important role in life, often shaping their surroundings. When a couple finished renovating their Spanish-style home in Brentwood, they needed a visionary designer to create an approachable space with sophisticated restraint to hold their impressive collection of modern art. They enlisted the Los Angeles-based design firm Natasha Baradaran Interior Design to help reconfigure the interiors to showcase their ever-evolving collection.

“My clients like to move pieces around,” says Baradaran. “Therefore, it was important not to leave them stuck with a very specific aesthetic.” The overall design direction was to rejuvenate the interiors with a sense of warmth that did not compete with the art. Subtle hues and minimal patterns were placed on walls and upholstery pieces throughout. Baradaran and her team selected a significant amount of bespoke furniture pieces, many from her own collection, that had sculptural qualities, to reflect the owners’ passion for collecting.

Baradaran drew inspiration from many of the existing artworks to elicit her interior selections. Beginning in the expansive entrance, a large text-based painting, Untitled Mountain Painting by Ed Ruscha, and Gonzalo, a ceramic sculpture by Ken Price, complemented by a Jean de Merry console, set the tone for the level of work that is positioned throughout the home.

In the dining room, a rosewood table by Dessin Fournir sits below a Hervé Van der Straeten 369 Lustre Micmac chandelier in solid cast bronze with dark gold patina from Ralph Pucci, with works by Jonathan Horowitz and Vik Muniz hung close by. A vibrant triptych entitled Detail (Sports car; in 3 parts) by Thomas Demand hangs above a curved Bourgeois Boheme sofa Baradaran covered in a slate blue Mokum vintage velvet. Prominent pieces including Paper Planes by Robin Rhode and the Pilgrim sculpture by Yoshitomo Nara make the master bedroom feel like a major gallery. Baradaran notes, “The clients believe art is something you should live with.”